Normalcy?

Yesterday, I finally felt a sense of normalcy, outside with friends, experienced Pilgrims and soon-to-be Pilgrims.  For a brief while, on the trail, no masks but a respectable distance it seemed like BC (Before COVID).

The Professors were taking a group of students back to Huntsville State Park, the last place we went BC.  This group of students with the exception or Roy from our February trip was a new group.

Three of them are going to go with Chris to Spain and the Camino next year, maybe?  All depends on the state of the world and vaccines as well as humans behaving themselves for the next 9-10 months.  I was encouraged that some just wanted to hike and had heard about Chris on campus so, they joined in too.

It’s encouraging that even with the state of the world currently, these young people are still optimistic about getting to go to Spain next May.  They were excited and curious and maybe a bit concerned about being in shape.

We didn’t walk 10 miles/16k this time and it’s a good thing, unused legs, knees and feet reminded most of us that we’ve not been as active as we needed to be.  I may not still deserve my Ziegenbruder nickname but, I’m going to hold on to it anyway.  Even with this, when we finished, Ann produced the best beer I’ve ever had in the world…today.  It was a good day, I’m glad I could go down, if only for the day.

For those 6 hours, I could remember what it had been like before this plague and looked forward to the day that we can once again go out, hike, go to dinner or the theatre or just speak with a neighbor, without a mask.

I will not and have not resisted the reality, I know that resistance is futile and, it only hurts me.  So, I look towards the future and our trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country and to the future free of CV-19.